Fireworks Display

An old-fashioned patriotic salute to the Fourth of July will be celebrated at Carroll County Farm Museum in Westminster tomorrow, the First of July.Since the farm museum began sponsoring the Independence Day event about 25 years ago, this will be the first time the celebration is to be held July 1 instead of the traditional Independence Day."We've been getting irate calls because of plans made by families coming into town and their picnics," said Dottie Freeman, museum administrator.The organizers said the change is for the best.

Who knows what the name of the ballpark will be? Or if Bo wil be there? Or if Fay Vincent will still be the host?There is much to be decided before the 1993 All-Star Game arrives in Baltimore, but that did not stop Orioles public relations director Rick Vaughn and an entourage of Orioles personnel from going to Toronto to observe firsthand just what is in store for the team and the city.Other than the date, July 13, 1993, no plans are set in stone for the extravaganza two years down the road.

The Fourth of July fireworks may have gone off a little early this year with protests over parade plans in area communities, but the holiday promises to be as spectacular as in years past with festivities scheduled throughout the long weekend.G; Following is a roundup of the major events in the area.BaltimoreBaltimore will celebrate Independence Day with three days of activities at the Harborplace amphitheatre. At 5 tonight, the local Top 40/dance group Tiffany will get things started, followed at 9 by the Motown sounds of Part Harmony.

The fireworks display at the Carroll County Farm Museum on the Fourth of July is in the red — and its supporters are hoping it continues that way. "We had some seed money to start this year," said Tom Welliver, fireworks chairman for the Westminster Kiwanis Club. "It is going really well. " Last year marked the first time the Kiwanis took charge of the show. Now in its 35th year, the fireworks show on the Fourth of July was started by the Jaycees and then later run by the Rotary clubs.

Still thinking about whether to go out and party on New Year's Eve? We know, we know. There's that little Y2K thing that may have some of you staying close to home and hearth. But here's a salute to the party animals among you -- and you know who you are. Let the celebration begin!Baltimore and Annapolis are both laying out the red carpet for the new year.In a change from past years, Baltimore's celebration will have no activities at the Convention Center."We decided to move it from the Convention Center because we wanted to make it available to anyone.

Annapolis fire officials yesterday searched for the cause of an explosion that injured two fireworks company employees -- one of them critically -- and interrupted the city's fireworks show Monday night.The accident occurred on a barge in the Severn River from which the fireworks were being launched.About 15 minutes into the show, Robert Silverman, 40, a "shooter" for Pyrotecnico of New Castle, Pa., loaded a 10-inch shell into a firing mortar. The shell exploded in the mortar, scattering debris 30 feet and setting several small fires on the barge, fire officials said.

Laurel's annual Independence Day Celebration will be held Saturday, July 2, beginning with a morning parade and ending with fireworks at dusk at Gude Park at Laurel Lakes. The parade begins at 11 a.m., and follows a route from Sixth and Montgomery streets, to south on Fourth Street to Cherry Lane. Antique and classic cars will lead the parade and then be on display at Gude Park through 4 p.m. Parade grand marshals follow a military theme, and include representatives from the Air Force, Army and Marine recruiting offices in Laurel.

Laurel's annual Independence Day Celebration will be held Saturday, July 2, beginning with a morning parade and ending with fireworks at dusk at Gude Park at Laurel Lakes. The parade begins at 11 a.m., and follows a route from Sixth and Montgomery streets, to south on Fourth Street to Cherry Lane. Antique and classic cars will lead the parade and then be on display at Gude Park through 4 p.m. Parade grand marshals follow a military theme, and include representatives from the Air Force, Army and Marine recruiting offices in Laurel.

Environmental panel plans public sessions Howard County's Commission on the Environment and Sustainability will hold five open-dialogue sessions during which the public will have an opportunity to meet commission members and learn about its work. The commission, which was appointed four months ago, is working to identify the best environmental practices to be incorporated into county government operations and all aspects of life in Howard County. The commission is to consider air and water quality, education and outreach, energy, government organization, "green" building and development, open space and local preservation.

On June 8, American military forces will descend on Washington with the most awesome display of firepower seen in the capital since "Nimitz Day," Oct. 10, 1945, when 1,028 planes overflew the capital in formations that twice spelled out "Nimitz."Saturday, helicopters will land in downtown Washington, a Harrier jet will make a vertical descent onto the Mall, 60-ton tanks will roll down the avenues, and a fireworks display twice the size of the one planned for the Fourth of July will light the sky.All this is not a coup d'etat; it is only a "parade," to celebrate the return of the troops from the Persian Gulf war. Two giant television screens on the Mall will display for the crowd the very spectacle that is before their eyes -- as if to confirm once and for all the principle that in our time even the most extravagant events disappoint unless they appear on some screen or other.